Elden Ring: Atai vows to have a perfect ending

I totally didn't expect that Sir Baizhi would come over from his study.

And it was very obvious that his target was me.

I smiled a little, but I didn't dare to smile as I responded to the other person's greeting: "Sir, you're here. Sorry, I didn't say hello to you."

"It's okay," said Sir Baizhi.

But I couldn't see what expression he had in the shadow under his helmet.

——Why did Baizhi come to me on his own initiative?

- Could it be that Nefeli really challenged him to a duel to seek justice for Platinum Village? So, is he going to settle the score with me now?

"Sir, do you know who harmed the witch like this and even spared her soul?" Roderica looked at Baizhi.

"... He used the power of the stars to imprison the fate of others, stripped and controlled their souls, and made them at his mercy, yet he was complacent and shameless. I'm afraid only that bastard would do such a bad habit." Baizhi's eyes seemed to never leave me, "Zero, have you met Servis?"

“Ah… yeah.”

"Since he gave you his favorite puppet, he must have asked you to do something boring, right... Nepheli?"

——As expected of Baizhi, she could guess Servis’ intention so easily.

——But it’s not convenient for you to guess my intention.

"Sir, are you worried about Nepheli?" I asked carefully.

The other party seemed to snort coldly: "I just feel sorry. Although the girl believed someone's slander and was suspicious of me, she is of no use to me, but she is indeed a good rough stone..."

"No! Absolutely not!" Perhaps Roderica understood the meaning of our conversation and stood up excitedly, but she seemed to have been kneeling for too long and staggered and almost fell back.

I quickly went over and supported her.

Roderica also begged me with her tearful eyes: "Even her soul will be imprisoned and she will never be free for the rest of her life... Master Zero, I don't want Nefeli to become like that! Didn't she help you defeat Greg?"

"Calm down, Roderica. I never said I would help that man." This is all I could do to comfort her. "Besides, if Nepheli were to meet with an accident, I think everyone in Storm City would not let the culprit go."

"Yes, really?"

"I have never deceived you."

"No, I will believe every word you say, Master Zero, but..." Roderica held my right hand tightly. Her eyes, which flickered with blue light, seemed to be able to look directly into my heart. "I am just a little worried that in pursuit of power, you will go astray like that person. If... if you need power, I will do my best to help you, but please stay the way you are now. This is my wish from the bottom of my heart, Master Zero."

——Speaking of which, this girl’s eyes can, to some extent, truly foresee someone’s future.

——Maybe she was worried that I would also get insane. After all, that was to prevent Melina from getting into trouble...

"...To be honest, I have a stubborn temper. Even five bulls... five goblins can't pull me back. So, it's hard to change, actually." I carefully reached out my hand and wiped away the tears on Roderica's face. "If one day..."

——Originally, I thought that if one day I really went astray, I would ask Roderica to scold me and wake me up. But thinking carefully, if I really got infected with the madness and was controlled by it like Edgar, it would be dangerous for Roderica to get close to me.

So I changed the way I put it: "If one day, when I have finished everything I need to do, let's work together to find a way to break the curse on the witch Serolina, okay? Roderica."

"Well! I'm willing to serve you, Lord Zero." Roderica finally smiled.

I smiled back at her, turned my head, and looked at Baizhi.

——Speaking of which, the reason why Baizhi despised Servis was because he once had a like-minded friend who was turned into a puppet by the other party.

——The “Sleeping Arrow” Dolores.

"Sir, do you know any way to restore the puppet?" I asked.

"...At present, the only way to free her is to kill her completely, with a destined death." Bai Zhi's voice also became a little deeper, and then he changed the subject, "By the way, you asked me about the so-called Mad Fire before."

"What? Any news?!" I listened attentively.

Baizhi nodded and said, "On the east coast of Lienia, near the Atan Plateau, there is a Dianhuo Village. I heard that they have welcomed new people in."

"Where's the time?"

"About four days ago."

——Four days ago?

It has been about eight or nine days since I defeated Edgar and sent his corpse back to Stoneville. Four days ago... Suppose that on the day after I fought Edgar, Mad Fire Us took Haida to find the second Chapolili grape, or he was just one step away from me and arrived at the Avenger's House.

But no matter how I think about it, it feels impossible that it took him only four or five days to rush from the Avenger's shack to Stonewell to seize Edgar's eyes, and then cross the entire lake area to reach Mad Fire Village.

After all, even if I rode Torret at full speed, it would take at least five days to cross Lienia, he moved too fast.

Combined with what Edson said, the time when it rained in the past few days should be the night of the second day when I went to Kalia Castle. In that case, Dianhuo Us only had two days to get from Stonewell to Dianhuo Village.

——It’s strange, no matter how I think about it, the time doesn’t fit.

——Could it be that the disappearance of Edgar’s body was not caused by the Fire Madmen?

Oh, that's not quite right. Maybe Crazy Fire Us and the guy who looks like me acted separately, but if that's the case...

The reasoning in my mind is a bit confused.

I could only continue to ask: "So, Sir, have you ever heard of a lunatic like me?"

"There is no information about eyewitnesses yet." Bai Zhi paused, and then continued, "I heard that, Zero, you are planning to go to Galid recently, right?"

——Perhaps Nepheli told him?

I nodded.

"In that case, if you have time, you can go to the Faros Fortress in the north. Maybe there will be traces of those fire maniacs there." Baizhi reminded.

——Yes, one of the Fire Madmen has half of the symbol of the Dekedas Elevator in his hand, so they would naturally want to use the elevator to reach the Atan Plateau.

——If I had taken the talisman first, maybe I could have intercepted them on the cliff of the ancient ruins.

However... "Star Shatter" General Latan's plan is also very urgent and he simply cannot spare the time.

Perhaps seeing that I was a little hesitant, Bai Zhi sighed and took the initiative to say, "Forget it, I'll just ask someone to go take a look."

This was a bit beyond my expectations.

——After all, from just now on, I had a vague feeling that Baizhi was taking her anger out on me because of Neferi.

——I even suspected that he was deliberately trying to pin the incident of the Finger Witch Serolina's puppetization on me in order to create a rift between Roderica and me.

······Did I blame him wrongly?

"Don't worry about it." Bai Zhi seemed to see through my thoughts again, "After all, Dianhuo is really tricky. At least in this aspect, my thoughts are the same as yours, Zero."

After saying that, he put his hands behind his back and walked back to his study.

Looking at Baizhi's back, I suddenly felt a kind of loneliness in this man... Perhaps, I shouldn't look at Sir Baizhi entirely from the perspective of the game, and should try to understand him better.

Of course, I also have to be wary of his foxy nature, as he may take advantage of me.